Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 3, 1 March 2000 — Census 2000; B &F Committee [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Census 2000; B &F Committee

ALOHA MAI KĀKOU, e nā 'ōiwi o Hawai'i. In this 38th article ui a series of 46, we highUght Hawai'i Census 2000 and OHA's Committee on Budget and Finance 2000. Hawai'i Census 2000 On March 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 'Iolani Palaee, a gathering of Native Hawanans, Pacific Islanders and representatives of aU populations in Hawai'i wiU join Census Bureau DU:ector Kenneth Prewett, community leaders and governmental dignitaries to forge together toward success for the Hawai'i Census 2000. AUofHawai'i should care because aU of Hawai'i wiU benefit. By mid-March every household in Hawai'i wUl receive a Census 2000 questionnaU:e. The completed questionnaire must be maUed back by Apiil 1 . The Census Bureau wiU tabulate data and will send census staff to addresses that do not

retum the questionnaire. These census enumerators wiU attempt to do one-on-one interviews at those addresses so the residents ean be included in the eomplete count objective of Census 2000. All individual responses to the questionnaire are confidential and protected by law. Only aggregate mformation is compiled, analyzed and released. Native

Hawanans and other PaeiUe Islanders wiU fmd special check-off boxes at the "Race and Ethnicity" question. Census 2000 is only the beginning for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. "This is our future; don't leave it blank." Committee on Budget and l inanee On Jan. 13, the OHA BOT took action to approve Committee leadership and membership. I have the privilege and responsibiUty to serve as the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. By my request, Trustee Hao, former B&F chair, serves as the current vice-chair. Our committee members include Tmstee Cataluna, Tmstee DeSoto, Tmstee Machado, Trastee Springer and Tmstee Trask. The Committee purview, found in Article VIII of the OHA By-Laws, "Committees of the Board," as amended by the OHA

BOT Apiil 24, 1997, reads as foUows: " Committee on Budget and Finance: In carrying out itsfiduciary responsibilities the committee shall handle all fiscal matters according to the policies setforth in the OHA's Administrative and Financial Manual ofGuides; and will ensure proper management, investment and usage ofOHA's trustfunds. The Committee shall carry out the selection and evaluation ofthe Administrator in conjunction with the Committee on Policy and Planning." Īhe Committee on Budget Finance anticipates meetings every first and third Thursday of the month. About 20 meetings will occur before Nov. 5. OHA board and committee meetings are "open" meetings. Actions approved at the Committee on Budget and Finance are routed by committee report to the Board of Tmstees for ūnal action. Areas of review by the Budget

and Finance Commit- | tee, pursuant to the I committee's purview, I are anticipated to I include, but not be limited to, HRS 10 I statutory requirements | related to budgets (preparation and subi mittals); audits and audit responses, legislative review of budI- gets: annual reports; other relevant statutory requirements; and | procurements; fiscal and budgetary impUcations relating to cur-

rent Memoranda of Understanding and Memoranda of Agreement of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, including loan programs and contractual obligations. In the area of investment, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, OHA's investment consu!tant, provides OHA ongoing consultation and guidance regarding investment pohcy and the performance of the OHA investment portfolio. Equally important, the Committee on Budget and Finance will openly work to recommend pmdent investment and effective efforts and services to improve conditions of native Hawaiians and Hawaiians, as weU as maintain tmst assets for future generations. The evaluation of the Administrator wiU also be addressed with the Committee on Policy and Planning chaired by Tmstee Springer. ■

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